Locking device for temporary clamping together two or more pieces of sheet metal



,' Oct. 9, 1951 M. FISHER LOCKING DEVICE FOR TEMPORARY CLAMPING TOGETHER TWO OR MORE PIECES OF SHEET METAL Filed Feb. 16, 1948 Patented Oct. 9, 1951 LOOKING DEVICE FOR TEMPORARY CLAMP- ING TOGETHER TWO OR MORE PIECES OF SHEET METAL Mark Fisher, Coventry, Warwickshire, England, a'ssignor to A. T. S. Company Limited, Belgrave Square, England, a British company Application February 16, 1948, Serial No. 8,596 In Great. Britain March '7, 1944 Section 1, Public Law 690, August s, 1946 Patent expires March 7, 1964 2 Claims.

The invention relates to a locking device, for temporarily holding together two or more pieces of sheet-metal or the like-for example, while they are being riveted or otherwise joined together, of the kind which includes an abutment element having a terminal portion in the form of a guide pin on one end thereof arranged to enter mating holes in the sheet-metal pieces, and having an abutment part to engage the exterior face of the pieces, a locking pin, slidably supported by the abutment element, having an offset abutment end which can be completely entered through the mating holes, in one axial position of the locking pin and when the said terminal portion or guide pin is not in the mating holes, and which, in another axial position, can coact with the said terminal portion or guide pin to provide lateral location in the mating holes and can abut the inside face of the pieces, and a locking nut adapted to engage a screw-thread on the exterior end of the locking pin and also to engage a second abutment of the abutment element so as to place the locking pin in tension when the nut is tightened.

My main object is to provide an improved locking device which will be very inexpensive to make, comprising essentially only three parts.

According to one form of the invention, the abutment element comprises two spaced loops, to provide the two said abutment parts and slidingly to guide the locking pin, joined by a bridging portion or guide pin, the said terminal portion being out of alignment with the bridging portion and partly in alignment with the guiding means for the locking pin. The abutment element may be formed of a single length of wire bent to shape. Providing coacting flats on the abutment element and locking pin will prevent relative rotation thereof.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure l is an elevational view of a locking device, according to the invention, when clamping together two sheets;

Figure 2 is a similar view of the parts but with the locking device opened so that it can be inserted in position or removed;

I Figure 3 is an end elevation, looking from the left of Figure 1, of the locking device; and

Figures 4 and 5, respectively, show the abutment element and the pin separately, the former being turned (about its axis) through about 30 from th position occupied in Figures 1 to 3.

In the drawings the abutment element H] has a terminal portion or guide pin H which is of semi-circular section, as shown by Figures 3 and 4, the diameter thereof being one which will allow the pin ll just to enter the aligned holes I2, I2 in the sheets I3 which are to be temporarily clamped together. l4 represents the abutment part (on the element 10) which is provided with a fiat face I5 to engage the exterior surface I6 of the sheets. I! is another abutment (on the element I 0) to coact with the locking nut [8. The two abutments l4, I1, are joined to one another by a bridging portion [9.

In the construction shown the whole abutment element I0 is formed from a length of wire bent to shape, the two abutments, [4, ll, being in the form of loops.

The locking pin 2| is slidably supported by the abutment element l0, having a clearance engagement in the loop I! with which it is coaxial, whilst its inner end is reduced in section to be generally of semi-circular section, as shown at 22, whilst towards the extremity the semi-circular portion has flats 23 formed on its opposite sides. The semi-circular section 22 is of the same size as the semi-circular terminal portion ll of the abutment element, and they lie alongside one another, as shown by Figure 3. At the innermost extremity of the pin 2| is an offset abutment part 24, and the outer portion of the pin is screw-threaded, as indicated at 25, to receive the locking nut.

Figure'l shows the parts in the locking position, the nut being screwed up against the abutment I! to place the pin under tension so that its oifset extremity 24 is pulled against the interior face 21 of the strips, whilst the fiat face I5 is pushed against the exterior face thereof.

Figure 2 shows the parts when the locking nut has been unscrewed and the abutment element 10 slid axially, with respect to the locking pin, so as to withdraw from the holes [2 the terminal portion H. Consequently, the locking device as a whole can be moved laterally to bring the offset end 24 of the pin into alignment with the holes I2 through which it can be withdrawn or inserted, as the case may be.

In Figures 1 and 3 the terminal portion I I and the portion 23 of the locking pin provide complete lateral location. The reduced portions 22 and 23 of the locking pin coact with the small loop (in the abutment part I 4) comprised by the flat 29 on the terminal portion and the opposite part 30.

rhus, with the locking device of the invention, very positive clamping can be obtained and the parts, which are only three in number, can be inexpensively produced. 7

I claim:

1. A clamping devicecomprising-a-locking, pin having screw threads formed on one end portion thereof and a laterally extending locking abutment at the other end thereof, an abutment element surrounding said pin and being formed of a length of wire bent to form-twospacedaxially' aligned loops surrounding said pin at spaced points and being connected by an integral bridge portion, the outer face of the loop adjacent the: abutment end of said pin forming a clamping surface for cooperation with said laterally extending' abutment, a guide pin formed of anintegraliexe tension of the end of one of said loops" and" ar ranged parallel with andclosely adjacent the abutment end of said pin, said pin' and' abutment element having interlocking parts forp'reventing rotation of said pin in said locking element but Number 2. A clamping device according to claim 1 wherein saidguide pin hasasemicircular section with it's flat face-locatedionthe axis? of said pin and the abutment end portion of said locking pin 7 has a semicircular section with its flat face arranged in sliding contact with the flat face of said guide' p'in'; V

M. FISHER.

REFERENCES CITED Thef'ollowing; references are of record in the fileof" this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,544,246; Leslie June 30, 1925 1,677,270 Butler vet a1. July 17, 1928 2,327,148 Yates Aug. 17, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 443,683 Eng1and Mar. 4-,,1936 682,425 Germany; Oct. 14, 1939 

